During its 10 days at the ISS, Fedor will learn new skills such as "connecting and disconnecting electric cables, using standard items from a screwdriver and a spanner to a fire extinguisher," said Alexander Bloshenko, the Russian space agency's director for prospective programmes and science.

Image copyrightAFPImage caption
The robot was launched on Thursday and is expected to arrive at the space station on Saturday

It is hoped that Fedor will eventually carry out more dangerous tasks such as spacewalks.

Fedor is not the first robot sent into space.

The US sent a robot into space in 2011 with the aim of working in high-risk environments. It was flown back to earth last year after suffering technical problems.